Divisions: Open Men’s Division: 35 years and older, Master Men’s Division: 50 years and older, Open Women’s Division: Any age, Just for fun Women’s Division: Any age

Details:
the 2013 New England Pond Hockey Festival is the 7th annual tournament and will once again be held in spectacular Rangeley, Maine from February 1st through the 3rd. This year’s tournament will boast at least four divisions, with all teams set to compete in this wonderful event to celebrate a time-honored New England tradition. The New England Pond Hockey Festival looks forward to seeing participants and spectators alike!

• All players must be fully registered before entering the rink.
• Only registered players and NEPHF officials and volunteers are allowed on the rinks.
• Each team will play at least three games on Saturday, with consolation and championship rounds on Sunday morning.
• The rink measures approximately 150’ x 75’ (75% of regulation size).

Equipment
• All players must wear helmets and hockey skates. Protective equipment is optional but highly recommended.
• No goalie equipment (including goalie stick) is permitted.
• All teams must have matching jerseys or uniforms.

Scoring and Refereeing
• All games are running time and substitutions can be made during play (payers leaving the game must be at the snow boards before new skater can engage in play) or while a puck is out of play.
• There will be one off-ice pond official to monitor play (scoring, time, puck reset, and arbiter of infractions and disputes).
• There are no overtime periods in round robin play. During championship games, teams will play a 3-minute overtime. The team that scores the most will be declared the winner. If the score remains tied at the end of the 3 minutes, play will continue unabated and the first team to score wins.

Game Play
• All games are 30 minutes in length with two 15-minute halves.
• Teams skate 4 players at a time.
• If a puck goes out of bounds, the last team to touch it loses possession. During restart, the defender must give his opponent two stick lengths of space.
• Players should not pursue puck out of play. Officials will have extra pucks and immediately spot a puck for play to continue. Puck chasers are provided.
• There are no off-sides or icing calls.
• Goals must be scored from the attacking side of center ice.
• Except for the opening face off, teams must give their opponents ½ ice after a goal is scored or an infraction takes place. Team with the puck must move it quickly so the game is not delayed. The defensive team can engage the team with the puck once all of its players have “tagged up” at center ice and the offensive team begins moving puck up the ice.
• A player may not patrol or remain stationary directly in front of the goal.
• A defender may deflect the puck in the crease area, but the defender must do so while continuing to move through the crease area, which is defined as a box extending 4 feet in from of the goal mouth.

Penalties and Loss of Possession
• Penalties will be called for rule infractions. Penalties are called on honor system. A minor penalty will result in a goal awarded to opposing team as well as possession of the puck.
• Any major penalty, which includes any action that could possibly injure another player, will result in the offending player being ejected from the tournament. The team that received the ejection will play the remainder of the tournament short-handed (3 vs. 4). Off-ice Pond official will determine major penalties.
• Abuse of officials will be considered a major penalty. This includes yelling, swearing, or arguing about calls.
• No checking is allowed. Such action will result in a minor penalty unless deemed serious enough to be a major.
• No slapshots allowed. Such action will result in a minor penalty.
• Players cannot fall or lay on the ice in an effort to protect the goal area. Such action will result in a minor penalty.
• Players cannot lay their sticks down to protect the goal area. Such action will result in a minor penalty.
• Contacting the puck with a stick above the waist will result in a loss of possession.
• Raising the puck intentionally will result in a loss of possession.